Effects of Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides on performance, immunity, antioxidant capacity and meat quality in Pekin ducks

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharide (ABP) on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune function, relative organ weight, ileal microflora and meat quality in Pekin ducks. A total of 1200 female one-d-old Pekin ducklings (51.2 ± 0.2 g) were blocked based on body weight (BW), and randomly allocated into 3 treatments with 10 replicates of 40 birds each. The experiment lasted for 6 wk, and dietary treatments included corn-soybean meal-based diet supplemented with 0, 0.02 and 0.04% ABP. The supplementation of ABP increased (P The relative weight of breast meat was increased (P